A French court has rejected an appeal placed by an offshore holding company against the seizure of a superyacht linked to a key ally of President Vladimir Putin, according to a ruling published on Wednesday.
The Amore Vero, which the French authorities maintain is owned by a company linked to the chief executive of Russian state oil giant Rosneft Igor Sechin, was seized by France in early March.
The seizure of the vessel was part of EU sanctions imposed against Russian oligarchs over the February 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The vessel, some 86 meters (282 feet) long, with a swimming pool that can be transformed into a helipad and an estimated value exceeding 100 million euros, is held in the port of La Ciotat outside Marseille where it had been undergoing works.
The company Kazimo Trade and Invest Limited, based in the British Virgin Islands and which presents itself as the owner of the Amore Vero, had in July asked the Marseille court to order the release of the ship, saying the move was “without foundation”.
Kazimo Trade and Invest Limited insisted that it is the owner of the yacht and not “a sanctioned person”, apparently referring to Igor Sechin.
In his order, seen by AFP, the court judge declared himself “incompetent” to decide on the lifting of this seizure, saying that the company should apply to the administrative court.
But the judge noted however that “the information gathered by the customs officers made it possible to establish that if the company Kazimo Trade and Invest Limited was registered as the owner and commercial operator of the ship in question… Mr Igor Sechin was for his part registered as an economic beneficiary thereof.”
French authorities said at the time they moved to seize the yacht it was preparing to cast off from the southern French port in a hurry, without the work on it having been finished.
Sechin, a former deputy prime minister, is a fellow native of Putin’s home city of Saint Petersburg and seen as part of his tightest inner circle whose influence goes beyond his already vital post as Rosneft boss.
Russians have long been major buyers of superyachts — pleasure vessels classed as being more than 30 metres long — and they have become a major target of European authorities hunting down the assets of sanctioned figures.
